Hasbro reportedly makes a takeover bid for struggling rival Mattel

The two companies, which had a combined market value of about $16-billion as of Friday's close, said they do not comment on rumors or speculation.

Hasbro made the takeover approach in recent months, these people said, as Mattel has struggled to revive some of its faded brands.

Hasbro Inc has made an approach to acquire rival Mattel Inc, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday, making it the latest attempt to combine the two biggest United States toymakers in over two decades. Hasbro owns Nerf, Transformers, and My Little Pony, while Mattel makes Barbie and American Girl dolls, along with Fisher-Price and Hot Wheels toys.

Talks that the two may join forces has been long rumored, as Mattel's stock has fallen a significant 52 percent over the past year, leaving its market value at $5 billion.

Mattel in late October reported a 14 percent drop in its third-quarter sales, excluding the effect of currency fluctuations, and suspended its quarterly dividend. Mattel has also blamed the bankruptcy of toy retailer Toys "R" Us for its weak sales.

That prompted S&P Global Ratings to lower its ratings on Mattel's corporate debt, and led one analyst to say that Mattel might be better off as a takeover target. Mattel shares shot 24 per cent in after-hours trading, while shares of Hasbro shares rose 3.3 per cent. Mattel's stock has fallen 52 percent over the past year.

Three students were injured when a driver rammed into a group of students in a suburb of Toulouse in southwestern France. The investigation is to be handled by regular judicial police rather than Paris's anti-terror unit, he said.

The Post's Michael Scherer followed Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) in the final days of his primary campaign against Sen. Among the handful of Senate Republicans who have endorsed Moore, only Mike Lee of Utah weighed in on the allegations.

Regardless of preseason projections, a 4-6 overall record and 0-6 mark in the SEC was not what anyone wanted to see in Knoxville . Yet the awful effort showed that the team had quit on Jones or didn't consider him a coach for whom to show its best effort.

Tunisia will participate in their fifth World Cup, but first since qualifying four three consecutive tournaments from 1998-2006. Both nations join Nigeria, Egypt and Senegal, as Africa's representatives at the global finals next year.

The tribunal on Friday said the scheme was a "farce" , and that it can not be implemented from next week without its permission. This decision has come as a result of rising air pollution in Delhi, and an attempt to reduce vehicular pollution in the city.

Sethi said the agreement with West Indies showed a confidence by global sides in touring Pakistan again. Sethi further informed that the Caribbean team would visit Pakistan in March for the first series.

Some folks casually stumbled upon the Millennium Falcon resting in a field in Surrey, England , next to Barrows Hills Golf Club . It may be covered by shipping containers and tarp, but that's definitely the fastest ship in the galaxy.

The fact that LiAngelo is part of the new first family of basketball has added attention to the case. "He'll be fine. The freshman were suspected for shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton near the hotel that the team is staying in.

The December meeting about Gulen was also reported Friday by NBC, which cited people familiar with the probe. Investigators were also looking into the actions of his son, Michel Flynn Jr, in relation to the case.

In an interview with Portugal newspaper Expresso , Solo - who has 202 caps - said: "I had Sepp Blatter grab my ass". Solo also spoke out about the matter via her Instagram account recently (some words have been edited by LBS).

You can now change your name on Twitter
English, on the other hand, does lend itself to crammed tweets with 9% of English tweets hitting the previous 140 character limit. Five hours later, she quoted a tweet with more than 280 characters when a Twitter user insulted her cooking skills .